Even the most dovish policymaker at the Bank of England is nearly ready to raise rates

LONDON — Gertjan Vlieghe, probably the most dovish member of the
Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) believes that
the bank may need to raise interest rates "in the coming months,"
making the first hike in more than 10 years more likely than ever
before.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Society of Business
Economists, Vlieghe said that if the current "data trends of
reducing slack, rising pay pressure, strengthening household
spending and robust global growth" continue as they are, the bank
could raise rates in the short term.

Here is the key extract from his speech, titled "Real interest
rates and risk":

"For now, it seems the net effect of the many underlying forces
acting on the UK economy is that slack is continually being
eroded and wage pressure is gently building.

"If these data trends of reducing slack, rising pay pressure,
strengthening household spending and robust global growth
continue, the appropriate time for a rise in Bank Rate might be
as early as in the coming months."

Normally, one member of the MPC giving their views on interest
rates would not likely signal a big shift for the bank, but
Vlieghe has been continually downbeat on the prospects of
interest rate hikes, so his intervention is a very clear sign
that the bank is close to hiking.